the mud-ites vs. the anti-mud-ites...

I love a parade! Last Friday's kiddy parade was great! John and I sat on the sidelines and cheered.

 

Afterward, we all went to the carnival part of the Clearwater county fair and the temptation to ride the rides was not as bad as I expected. I watched the kids ride and enjoyed eating my favorites - a haystack (like supreme nachos),

and a doughboy. YUM!

State Farm covers ALL wheels!

 Before o’dark early Saturday morning, John and I took my lil’ bro’ to the Spokane airport for his flight to school. He is getting his doctorate in Physical Therapy (P.T., which also stands for Pain and Torture). We made it back to Orofino in time for the big Lumberjack Days parade, which was the 60^th annual, and the first one that my nieces and nephew and I watched instead of participated in. They enjoyed getting candy and were sweet enough to share with John and I. John nearly had to strap me down to keep me from jumping up and running out to get my own candy. Afterward, we ate more fair food and visited for a while before John and I came home to nap.

That night two of my nieces and my nephew came over and we finally made fuddy nutty noodle doodles! We were late getting to the horse pull which is another favorite of Lumberjack Days. We expected it to last at least an hour and a half, but by the time we wheeled over there, we watched about 10 minutes and it was over, lasting only an hour. We were all disappointed, but we took time to go to the arena where my niece enjoyed being able to get closer to the horses and talk to their owners.

 

Sunday morning, we went to church and continued our lesson on unity among God’s children. We learned about the division of the “mud-ites” and the “anti-mud-ites”. Mark 8:22-25 tells of Jesus healing the blind man by spitting into the man’s eyes. John 9:1-7 tells of Jesus healing the blind man by spitting in the dirt, making mud, and smoothing the mud over the blind man’s eyes. Both Mark and John report the blind man receiving sight. The preacher presented the imagined dialogue between the blind men, praising God for their sight, but being so focused on the argument of whether or not mud must be included or not, that they lose sight of the One who gave them sight. It was a great sermon and can be heard at: http://orofinocc.com/index.php?p=1_28_Sermons (specifically from about the 13 minute mark).

I spent the rest of Sunday with “my kids”, just being together. When I got to the rig, I realized we had not had our huckleberry ice cream for the day! John and I quick drove to the ice cream lady’s vending spot and found out she had sold all of the huckleberry ice cream. We settled for a dreamsicle and a drumstick. See ya next year Glenna!

Due to the increasing pain in my tooshie and my inability to walk or stand, we changed our plans from visiting family and friends in California to go straight to southern NV to get me checked out. 

Monday morning we crossed the Clearwater River and the further south we went, the thicker the smoke was from the wildfires.

 We stopped in Ontario, Oregon to have the rig’s engine light checked. It came on as we were crossing Montana last month. The mechanic hooked up his laptop and the light went out! We paid the $49. bill and continued on our way. We filled up with diesel fuel for $4.36/gallon at Fred Meyer near Boise, Idaho, and stayed the first night in Hagerman, Idaho. On the way Tuesday, we stopped in Salt Lake City, Utah to get the rig washed. We also stopped along the way to grab a snack and see the alpacas.

 That night we stayed in Nephi, Utah where we ate supper at Lisa’s Country Kitchen. YUM! I had hamburger steak with onions, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, bread, and a garden salad with bleu cheese dressing. It was good cookin’!!

Wednesday we took in the desert landscape along I-15 in southern Utah. It was a familiar sight, but one that we had not seen for a while. The Virgin River Gorge in Arizona is always breathtaking.

That afternoon arrived at my mother and step-dad’s in southern NV. We saw my step-sister and her family that night, and have just been taking it easy. 

The check engine light came back on in the MINI and the engine was cutting out, so Wednesday the wrecker came to pick it up and take it to the dealer. 

I had an appointment this afternoon for the pain in my rear end, but I just got a call that the dr. called in sick... my appointment is moved to Monday. Hopefully we will have the MINI back by then so we can go topless!!